6 years for thief who fleeced elderly

FRESNO, Calif. 
A California woman has been sentenced to six years in jail for fleecing elderly people out of their life savings.

Fresno investigators say 55-year-old Sharon Elaine Harrelson preyed on grieving, elderly people by convincing them to pay her tens of thousands of dollars for long-term planning, including life insurance and funeral arrangements.

But the Clovis woman pocketed the money.

The Fresno Bee (
http://bit.ly/Nklm7x
) says Harrelson pleaded no contest on Wednesday in Fresno to four felony counts of theft of an elderly person. She was sentenced to six years in the Fresno jail.